Latest News From Betsy Jibben

The tradition of naming the Beltwide Cotton Specialist of the Year continued on with a virtual flair. Seth Byrd, Oklahoma State University Extension Cotton Agronomist, received this year’s cotton specialist award.

Pro Farmer reporting corn and soybeans started the new year just like they ended 2020 with strong gains to new six-and-a-half year highs. “It’s rare,” says Brian Basting with Advance Trading.

It's been a bright year for Christmas tree farmers across the country. As more Americans stay home during the pandemic, many revisited traditions, which brought business to Christmas tree farmers this year.

It may be hard to tell from this field but Lowden, Iowa, farmer Brad Dircks is one of many Iowa farmers to have quite a year.

Today’s fast-food menus boost U.S. dairy sales.

Iowa’s damaged on-farm grain bins might take through 2022 to rebuild.

The country’s mid-section is experiencing nice, warm temperatures for fall. It may not last for long.

AgDay meteorologist Mike Hoffman says there’s “not a lot going on” through the south land. However, there will be some mountain snows and potential snow North into Canada.

A cold front is still dragging and bringing some showers to the Eastern Coast.

Pictures: Iowa Cooperative Still Rebuilding, Making Progress After Derecho  AgDay's Betsy Jibben returns to the Mid-Iowa Cooperative AgDay had visited the same week as the August derecho to see the progress.

Iowa Bin Builder: Rebuilding On-Farm Storage Could Continue Past 2021 Betsy Jibben, AgDay, national reporter “I’ve been here 40 years,” says Custom Builders owner, Rob Bohnsack.

The National Weather Service says Omaha had the third driest August on record. In this week’s I-80 Harvest Tour, AgDay's Betsy Jibben, heads just an hour west in Nebraska as two brothers harvest soybeans at twilight.

IA Farmers Share 2020 Harvest Progress Post Historic Derecho AgDay national reporter, Betsy Jibben, is in the Northeast part of the state to look at both corn and soybean harvests in the wind-damaged areas.

I-80 Harvest Tour 2020 Northern IL: “I Think We’ll Have an ‘OK’ Yield

Despite COVID-19 lower commodity prices and trade issues, USDA researchers are calling for farm sector profits to rise this year in its latest Farm Income Forecast.

“The biggest shock of this trip actually is the drought,” says Creed. “It’s not the damages from the derecho in eastern Iowa that we experienced here a couple of weeks ago.” 

Is Nebraska living up to its name as “The Corn Husker” state? That’s the question scouts along the Western leg of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour want to discover as they make their way from Grand Island to Nebraska City.

USDA reports this week it expects more than 9 million acres of prevent plant for 2020. This comes during a time when the department is calling for record yields for the corn and soybean crops.

Zippy Duvall on Battling COVID-19 In His Own Words

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says the department is looking at options for future coronavirus relief for producers.

Thirty-five million food boxes have been delivered as part of USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program, as of July 10.

The Wall Street Journal reporting rice prices for some futures contracts are spiking to the highest levels since 2011. Economists say the price bump isn’t just due to COVID-19. It also has to do with supply and trade.

Like many farmers, Rob Stout hopes his operation will be viable for generations to come. With the future in mind that means focusing on sustainability today.  

USDA says 37% of corn acres have been planted in Michigan, ahead of the 5-year average. As far as soybeans, 35% of soybeans have been planted, which is also more than the 5-year average.

Closures and shutdowns are still leaving many producers struggling with what to do with their hogs. One producer resorted to Facebook to sell hogs.

CoBank estimates meat supplies at grocery stores could shrink nearly 30% by Memorial Day, leading to prices rising by as much as 20%. Some cattle producers say they are barely hanging on due to futures prices.  

Two million manufacturing jobs could go unfilled by 2025 because many of those workers are retiring. Before the coronavirus hit, many students were going to school at a Case-New Holland Technician Development Program.

Brian Mehlhaf, who custom feeds hogs in Parkston, S. D., decided to head online to try to make a profit. He thought posting hogs for sale on Facebook would be a last resort. Now, the response is overwhelming.  

“Our overrun bushels, [the ones not marketed yet] become a challenge,” Jason says. “I’m just not sure without an increase in the crude oil market and an increase in demand from either ethanol or China."

USDA says corn has not been planted in Ohio. Farmers are ready for a fresh start. This year, they hope to plant all of their seed. Betsy Jibben takes us to Swanton, Ohio for this report along the I-80 Planting Tour.

The weather will soon seem a little chilly for April, starting mid-week, and it could last for up to two weeks for Northern Indiana. Yet, farmers prep for planting in the sun before the “colder” temps arrive.

California growers, who have faced water and drought problems in the past, say there’s a bigger scare ahead of them, which could potentially jeopardize production and leave more than 1 million acres fallow.

Most of the agricultural industry still waits to hear the status on disaster aid. However, sugar beet growers now have some answers to their questions.

World Ag Expo has been occurring for quite a long time in Tulare, California but it’s one of the first times hemp has been front and center at the Expo.

The fire sent cattle prices plummeting. Portions of the industry demanded an investigation and USDA said it was looking into it. Experts at the cattlemen's convention told AgDay that report is still pending.

The Cattle Industry Convention and NCBA Trade Show took place last week in San Antonio, Texas. AgDay took the show on the road for a special edition of the newscast.

NOAA shows 2019 was the second wettest year on record for the United States, behind 1973 by less than an inch. It makes people wonder what happened the year after and if there's a trend in 2020.

The weather continues to be a focus in the Northern Plains. Farmers in North Dakota saw dangerously low temperatures over the weekend. It’s one problem after the next as the state’s farmers still try to harvest corn.

USDA announcing this week it's rolling out federal crop insurance for hemp growers in 21 states. USDA's Risk Management Agency pilot insurance program will cover the 2020 hemp crop in certain counties in those states.

U.S. Farmers are waiting for the details in the Phase 1 trade agreement with China. While eyes are on grains and livestock, Southern growers hope China wants tobacco too.

When you think of pheasant hunting, you may think of South Dakota. It’s exact where Chip Flory went for this episode of “Outdoors on the Farm.”

It's getting colder and harvest is not slowing down for some Eastern Iowa farmers yet. It's an area which was once buried with feet of snow. However, the farm economy is on one farmer's mind, even after the snow melts.

Concerns about wet crops and wet fields are not stopping in Iowa. Farmers in river towns are worried crop insurance will make ground uninsurable because it may cost so much, especially if the levees are not fixed soon.

Many farmers didn’t have a chance to plant corn in Northwest Ohio and it shows. There's more in the I-80 Harvest Tour from the state.

A higher corn basis is seen in some pockets around the country, especially in Northwest Ohio where a lot of corn didn’t get planted due to a wet spring.

The I-80 Harvest Tour takes us to Indiana this week. It's where less than half the corn crop has been harvested. Some of that crop wasn't planted until after the start of June.

One Nebraska hog producer has been flooded multiple times this year due to a wet spring. He even had to travel by boat to take care of his hogs. We have an update of where he is now.

Nebraska farmers are trying to harvest after being flooded multiple times this year. Despite that, USDA says the average corn and soybean yields for the state are higher than the national average.

Idaho farmers scrambled to get their crops harvested as freezing temperatures and a snowstorm moved into the area. One farmer in Eastern Idaho received some helping hands. The story is going viral!

Farmers across the U.S. say how 2019 is not like any other year they’ve farmed. AgDay National Reporter Betsy Jibben talked with a seasoned farmer who can really say if this year has been different.